The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) seems highly generous when it comes to appointing staffers and providing them allowances and perks contradicting federal and provincial laws.

Bidhya Rai: Centre for Investigative Journalism-Nepal

The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) Committee in its meeting on February 26, 2019, took a decision under the chair of Mayor Bidya Sundar Shakya to appoint 7 employees on a contract basis.

Next day on from February 27, these 7 staff were to continue till the end of June. Since Local Self-Governance Act, 2055 BS and Staff Selection Committee of KMC have been rendered ineffective, the Committee of KMC undertook to appoint these staff. The appointment of the staff has embroiled into controversy even after a time period of 7 days was given on November 26, 2018, and notice to this effect was published in ‘The Rising Nepal’. Binayak Shrestha, from ward number 23 KMC furnished an application on December 1, 2018, demanding to scrap the appointment of staff and lodged a complaint with Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA). 

CIAA has not taken any action based on the complaint lodged by Shrestha. The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration has stopped any further appointment of staff till the controversy of the previous appointment of staff is set at rest and legally solved. The KMC has defied the instructions and went ahead to appoint them by taking an interview and a written test all internally conducted just to mislead the people.

The standard procedure to appoint the staff was not followed. Through an advertisement, an attempt was made to hoodwink the legal process in order to appoint their kith and kin. Another complaint highlighting the irregularity in the appointment of the staff was lodged with CIAA on December 1, 2018. That is also lying pending without any action being taken against the KMC authorities.

As per the information released by the Hanuman Dhoka office, these staffs were called ‘volunteers’. Details available at the KMC say that Rs 500 was given to them as expenditure for ‘Daily Snacks’. After the appointment was finalized, they were given the monthly salary of Rs 22,500 along with 50% of the salary as motivation allowance, Rs 2500 as dearness allowance and city allowance of Rs 1,500.  An advertisement regarding validation of their appointment as volunteers finds its ‘mention’ in the advertisement released in the newspaper to falsely match with the legal requirement. Gyanendra Karki, the Head of the executive wing of the KMC, claims that stated advertisement is not ‘illegal’ and said, ‘Mayor being the boss of the Corporation is empowered to fix the numbers of the staff besides going for fresh recruitment to appoint new staff.’  

Also the Deputy Mayor

It is not the first case of appointment of the staff by violating the laws, rules and standard procedure. Earlier too, Kathmandu Municipal Corporation had appointed 36 people on a contract basis by giving them convenient names such as staff, volunteers and trainees. Out of them, six of them are serving in the office of the Mayor Shakya and 4 staff have been placed in the office of Deputy Mayor Hariprabha Khadgi.  Similarly, 16 people are in ‘Career Camp’ of City Planning Commission, 3 as information facilitators in City Projects and 7 are serving in Hanuman Dhoka office. An official working at the eight level of the KMC says these staffs are provided with salary and allowance on paper while others are given cash in different ways under some other headings.’ 

Local Self-Governance Act, 2074 BS has strictly prohibited against any type of temporary arrangement in reference to the appointment of staff. However, Mayor Shakya, Deputy Mayor Khadgi and other officials of the Administrative wing appointed their relatives and kith and kin by violating the standard procedure and state laws on the subject.  Mayor Shakya has appointed Rajendra Sthapit as Public Relation Officer and Media Advisor. Journalists like Mohan Bastola, Suresh Kira nans Shyam Samrit are working as ‘Media Facilitators’ under Rajendra Sthapit. All of them prepare media bulletins and news which relates to Kathmandu Municipal Corporation.

They coordinate with journalists too in pursuance of the vested interests of Mayor and Deputy Mayor.  Mayor Shakya has appointed Anjana Sedhai in his office as office-assistant and recruited Jujukaji Prajapati as a driver of a light vehicle. Jujukaji recruited on December 24, 2017, and Anjana appointed on June 4, 2017, are given a regular salary, allowances and extra money on festivals and for official dresses.

Both Mayor and Deputy Mayor are deeply involved in promoting nepotism and favoritism in their offices. Deputy Mayor Khadgi appointed the kith and kin on the very day of taking charge on May 31, 2017. Anil Lama as Personal Secretary (Kharidar at 4th level), Manoj Pode as Light Vehicle Driver (1st level), Gyanu Maharjan and Dilmaya Magar as Office Assistants (1st level) were appointed by Deputy Mayor. Anil Lama appointed on contract basis is a political activist and the other three are very close to Deputy Mayor Khadgi.

In a report published by the Auditor General on April 3, 2019, for the financial year, 2018/19 BS has put these appointments in ‘doubtful category’ because there are no legal provisions for a provincial government to give them regular salary and allowances as being disbursed by both Mayor and Deputy Mayor. Deputy Mayor Khadgi insisted that appointments were made because she needed them. “I have not appointed them in higher positions. They are just assisting the office,” she said adding, “Right from morning to evening we are busy in work. So, these staff will help us ease the workload. They help us both in the office as well as home.”

The KMC has appointed six people that includes public relation officer, personal assistant, photographer, vehicle driver and office assistant in the secretariat of Mayor while secretariat of Deputy Mayor has four staff, according to Khadgi. Bhakta Bahadur Saud, Deputy Director working in the secretariat of Mayor says, “As far as I know, Rajeshwor Sthapit as Personal Secretary, Jujukaji Prajapati as driver and Anjana Sedhai as office assistant have been appointed. I do not know anything beyond this.”

The City Planning Commission of KMC, located in Thapathali, employees 16 trainee engineers now in its ‘career camp program’. Among just passed out engineers, 8 are from civil engineering, 4 of them are architects, 2 from sanitary and other 2 are from an electrical engineering background. These trainees appointed on a contract basis from January 2019 to June 2019 BS are to draw Rs 15,000 as ‘snacks allowances’.

Sushil Subedi, officer City Planning Commission, supports the appointment of these trainee engineers as KMC needs skilled labor force and they are to be further re-trained. A smart city requires public park, big offices, temples and other things with new architectural design, he further added. These trainee engineers have worked on not less than 21 project-plans/master-plans in ‘career camp’ organized from August to September 2018.

Besides spending Rs 1.4 million on their ‘snacks allowances’, KMC has disbursed Rs 2.2 million in the first phase of the ‘career camp’ program. Engineers brought in the ‘career camp’ are changed in rotation every six months. Three engineers from the first cycle of the camp are retained as facilitators in the second career camp. And the facilitator so appointed gets Rs 25,000 as monthly salary. In the second cycle of camp, participant-trainees have already finished designing 13 projects and are up in the process of designing more projects of city planning. Subedi claims that such decisions of running career camps have come from the third Town Hall meeting. Sadly, these designed projects are still waiting to be implemented, rues Subedi.

Liberal in providing perks and facilities

The KMC is reckless in spending people’s money on self-devised headings of perks and facilities to please their staff. Bikas Ojha, working on a contract basis as a computer engineer at the information department, draws Rs 30,500 as monthly salary apart from motivational allowances to the tune of 50% of his salary. Secretariats of Mayor and Deputy Mayor in financial year 2018/19 disbursed Rs 80, 43,117 to sanitary workers for their multitasking in a token of encouragement for disposing of waste and garbage to maintain cleanliness in the city.

Budha Ratna Manandhar, working in the finance department of the KMC, says, “We have a trend here to give 50% of the total salary as motivational allowances.” Thus, motivational allowances have been paid to staff working in Ratnapark and Balaju public parks, the Environment Management Department and to those who are working in the federal government offices. In the financial year 2018/19 alone, a huge amount of Rs 37,698,216 was released to pay the staff engaged in sanitary and cleanliness work. Ishwar Man Dagol, Spokesman of KMC, says, “Drivers and cleaning staff work beyond their scheduled time. That is why extra money in the form of allowances is paid to them.” 

The Good Governance Committee of KMC meant for ensuring good governance, transparency, punctuality, and responsibility is very much in the place. Under the chair of Nabraj Parajuli, President of ward number 32, the committee has 5 members that include, among others, Chief of ward number 6 Dipendra Lama, chief of ward 6 Shuddha Dagol and executive member Rasmi Khadka. Navraj Dhakal who himself is one of the staffs of KMC happens to be the member-secretary of this committee. This committee seems to be oblivion of its work and responsibility right from the day January 8, 2018, when the work procedure was endorsed. Chairman Parajuli opines, “I am unaware of the appointment of the staff in violation of the law. As I understand staff is being paid according to the stated provisions in the law. All the decisions are being taken in accordance with guidelines given by city assemble and the KMC board.”

There are a total of 1,815 staff working in the KMC out of which 1,694 are permanent and 121 staff are working on a contract basis. The contract is renewed every three months. Gyanendra Karki, Chief Executive Officer, claims that there was no fresh recruitment or appointment of any staff after the elected representatives took over the charge. “In the offices of Mayor and Deputy Mayor, necessary staff were appointment to increase the efficiency of the work. Without fresh recruitment, it is difficult to work and run the office.”

According to Manadhar, Head of the Finance Department, the KMC spent Rs 53,31,40,000 on perks and facilities of the staff in the financial year 2018/19. In the current financial year, Rs 1.22 billion has been allocated for the same purpose. Mayor defended the appointment of staff by saying that they were required for the work and salaries were not given to them by violating any existing laws.